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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26267614">Seijoh Space Pirates!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Porcupixel/pseuds/Porcupixel'>Porcupixel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Gen, Happy Seijoh Week, I love Aoba Johsai, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Is this action or adventure?, Pirate AU, Sci-Fi, Seijoh Week 2020, Space Pirate AU, aoba johsai</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:08:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,672</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26267614</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Porcupixel/pseuds/Porcupixel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Why have simple pirates when we can have space pirates? Join Aoba Johsai on a little adventure across the galaxy as the infamous Supernova Troupe!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Seijoh Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Meet the Supernova</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my submission for Seijoh Week Day 6 prompt: Pirate AU! You saw the tags so I'm basically bad at everything, but here I am anyway! This is my first time EVER writing something sci-fi and I did my best to do my research! Thanks for choosing to read my work and Happy Seijoh Week, everyone!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Oikawa looked over the vast nothingness that spread before him, a calm feeling sinking into his chest, almost overwhelming him. One may ask why one of the greatest captains in the galaxy (if not the universe) was doing nothing but staring at the darkness of an empty space.</p><p>His crew, the vicious Supernova Troupe, had just finished four raids, three bounty hunts, and two Space Guard getaways in the last 30 hours. Being their amazing, reliable, and awfully stubborn captain, he was awake every minute of it. Did he regret it?</p><p>Not really. It was his living, after all. But, he was still exhausted.</p><p>"Oi, Tooru!" The captain's peaceful moment of relaxation was finally interrupted. Oikawa turned to his right hand man, or in pirate-speak, his first mate, former Fleet Commander Iwaizumi Hajime. "I told you, Hajime, we're done for today," he grumbled, "I am dead tired and Yahaba told me we just finished a week's worth of work."</p><p>"You think I'm not tired?"</p><p>"Well, after wrangling those pesky Dridions, you still seem quite energetic~"</p><p>"Look, someone's looking for you and they're 'requesting communication'."</p><p>Oikawa raised a brow, then waved his hand as if shooing his co-captain, saying, "Isn't Shinji in charge of that?" Iwaizumi, deciding that it was a waste biding by Oikawa's time, opted to drag the other to the bridge, all while explaining the sudden request.</p><p>"They said that they wanted to speak with the captain. Otherwise, they wouldn't. When I told them to get off our gamma rays, they threatened to bring us to the Space Guard," a clearly annoyed Iwaizumi said. Then, Oikawa asked, "Who are they anyway? Must be pretty terrifying if they can scare you with a measly threat of the Guard."</p><p>The answer to Oikawa's question was right on the screen, and it killed his mood in an instant.</p><p>He strode over to his seat and plopped himself down, exuding an atmosphere of nonchalance that was clearly conveyed to the other party. With a steely gaze, he met the caller's eyes. "What do you want, Empire scum?"</p><p>The redhead on the screen chuckled, but quite venomously. The same distaste was evident in his ruby eyes. "Captain Oikawa Tooru, my, my, that was quite a warm greeting," he replied, "But, what we will be discussing is rather...exclusive." The rest of the crew in the room eyed the caller coldly, but Oikawa responded in confidence, "You don't tell my crew what to do. I do. And, I say they stay. If you don't like it, get lost."</p><p>As much as Oikawa loves annoying the Empire, he was not in the mood for any useless bickering (go back to the second paragraph if you forgot why). The redhead sighed, "So be it," then changed to a more serious tone, "The Emperor requests your help, though I don't know why he would--"</p><p>"It means you're incompetent," engineer Hanamaki Takahiro snickered, eliciting a hushed laughter from the others. Though Oikawa himself chuckled, he maintained his facade of hospitality. "What my mate here meant was, the skills his Highness must need is more...unique, for lack of a better word."</p><p>"Save me your bitterness, Captain. I, Satori Tendou, have been tasked to reach out to you pirates and, sadly, invite you to his court--"</p><p>"No, thank you, Mr. Satori Tendou--"</p><p>"--to discuss bounty hunting."</p><p>Oikawa's smirk slackened. The Emperor...has a hunt request? It was the first time he'd ever heard of it. Usuallly, the Empire had no trouble capturing criminals on their own, and for a good reason. Placing a bounty on someone wasn't really the 'Empire way'.</p><p>Still, a hunt was a hunt, and this particular crew literally lives for that.</p><p>Quickly, the captain composed himself and answered, against all logical reason, "We have a few people here who'd like to get off at their stations first, so how about in two earth days?" Oikawa could hear the surprise and confusion of his subordinates, but the caller seemed even more surprised. "I'll tell the Emperor, then," Tendou replies, his voice slightly trailing off.</p><p>Oikawa smiled sweetly, albeit he wasn't fooling anyone, and waved at the other. "Looking forward to seeing your ugly face in person, Empire trash~" He quickly ended the transmission before the caller could shoot an insult back.</p><p>As soon as the screen dissolved, Iwaizumi grabbed Oikawa by the collar, reprimanding the latter, "What do you mean 'see you in two earth days?! We're hundreds of light years away from the Empire and, and... That's not even the main point!"</p><p>Everyone else had their eyes on the two, curious how this would pan out. And, if Oikawa would survive uninjured.</p><p>"WHY DID YOU EVEN AGREE TO THAT?!"</p><p>Completely ignoring the fact that the enraged co-captain was two ticks close to holding him by the neck, Oikawa turned to Yahaba. "Gather the crew," he said without a trace of warmth in his tone. "I'll explain why," now to Iwaizumi. The co-captain dropped the other wordlessly, then stormed off to head the common area. He was joined by the rest of the crew in less than 4 minutes.</p><p>--------------------</p><p>The 48 hours passed and after turning over 4 alien rogues to their clients, new recruits Kindaichi Yutaro and Kunimi Akira were standing behind their captain and the strongest fighter on board, Kyoutani Kentarou, on their way to meet with the Empire leader.</p><p>"Hey, Kunimi," Kindaichi muttered, "Shouldn't Iwaizumi and Watari be with them instead of...well, us?" Kunimi couldn't blame his friend for asking. Although Oikawa already explained it to them and Kindaichi was half-asleep when it happened, it was still odd that the captain would have their two newest recruits join him for something as risky as this. Kunimi answered, "Watari said we could use the experience. We've only ever been on the minor raids, but those are probably more dangerous than just meeting up with a powerful space overlord, don't you think? </p><p>As the Empire's grand cruise ship extended a walkway towards their hangar, Oikawa interjected, "Akira, Yutaro, get your game faces on," he smiled, "It's showtime."</p><p>The four were escorted onto the other ship and thoroughly inspected. "We request that you leave all your weapons here before you meet with the Emperor," a tall ginger-haired soldier said. There was no kindness in his asking, but he and the soldiers weren't to blame for being tense around the pirates, especially this crew. Kunimi and Kindaichi were carrying double ray guns, Kyoutani an anti-matter battle axe, and Oikawa <strike>his dashing, drop-dead gorgeous looks </strike>armed himself with photon gloves and an alpha pulse shooter.</p><p>"The Empire is always so kind with their requests," Oikawa jabbed, "But, we refuse, if you don't mind. Besides, these are just for self-defense--"</p><p>"Pirates like you won't go near the Emperor with those," a young cadet exclaimed. But before anyone else could react, in one swift motion, Kyoutani grabbed his axe, which flashed to life and into a deathly red glow. Five soldiers quickly pointed their spears at him. Fortunately for them, Oikawa held his guard back and glowered at the soldiers. "You ought to know not to provoke the Mad Dog," he said coldly, "Is it the Empire way to waste people's precious time? You're not in a position to order us around, bastards." </p><p>The soldiers decided not to give Kyoutani a chance to swing his axe. Two of them hurriedly led Oikawa's crew through the ship and towards the conference room.</p><p>"Oikawa Tooru, we meet again," Ushijima Wakatoshi, overlord of the vast Empire, greeted with a curt nod as he stood at the other end of the room. Standing beside him was a young-looking man with copper-colored hair and the caller, Tendou Satori, who gave himself the liberty of glaring daggers at Oikawa and his entourage. The captain, however, spared them no pleasantries. "Cut to the chase," he said, his tone icy, "Who are we hunting?"</p><p>Tendou looked like he was about to spit a barrage of insults, but Ushijima was unfazed by Oikawa's deliberate crudeness. "I suppose we cannot waste any more time," he answered. The lavender-clad emperor nodded at his redhead advisor. Wordlessly, the latter turned the lights off and a hologram in the middle of the room shimmered to life. </p><p>Wasting no time, Ushijima began, "I'd very much appreciate it if you answer my following questions honestly, Oikawa Tooru." He paused, waiting for the other's response. The captain simply nodded, sealing the temporary truce between the parties.</p><p>Then, the emperor continued, "We have reason to believe that this flag belongs to pirates. However, we are not familiar with it. Are you?"</p><p>Oikawa studied the image. Like the pirates of human history, space pirates (or as Oikawa prefers, space marauders) used flags as a symbol of their identity. A crew would leave their own flag in places they pillaged to spread fear or possibly increase their numbers, or use an enemy flag to put blame on a different crew. Oikawa knew all the flags of different crews in at least 18 galaxies. At the moment, he was staring at a black flag with three orange slashes in the middle, which he was not familiar with.</p><p>"It must be a new wannabe pirate crew because I have no idea who that painfully simple flag could possibly belong to," he answered aloofly. This got a low hum from the other, but nothing more of a response. Then, Oikawa spat, "Are you telling me that you, a powerful colonizing nation, got your royal butts handed to you by a bunch of nobodies?"</p><p>A fist landed on the table. It belonged to the other man beside Ushijima. "That is it! I have had enough of you and your vile manners, pirate," he fumed. Turning to his superior, he continued, "My lord, I suggest we throw them back to their own ship and—"</p><p>"Silence, Kenjirou. I invited them here and it would be rude of me to kick them out. Remember the purpose of this meeting." With that, 'Kenjirou' sank back into the shadows. The hologram continued to illuminate the room, silence and the unknown flag floating in between the enemy parties. "Of the time being, I cannot waste the energy of my soldiers on this rogue chase," Ushijima began to explain, "I propose a temporary truce between us, Oikawa Tooru. You capture these pirates for us and we provide you immunity from the Space Guard."</p><p>Oikawa replied almost instantly, "You think the Supernova Troupe needs your protection? We've been evading not just the Space Guard for years now! And--" Then, he paused. An idea suddenly came to the captain's mind. He turned to his two new recruits, a sly twinkling in his eyes. "What do you two think," he asked, his tone strangely calm.</p><p>Kindaichi and Kunimi exchanged looks, obviously taken by surprise. This big of a decision, was suddenly on their shoulders, but they knew what their choice should be. The recruits nodded upon a silent agreement.</p><p>Kunimi stepped forward and stated their proposition, "What's in it for us, Lord Ushijima?" The four now shared the same mischievous spark their captain had. Kindaichi then continued, "Like the captain said, we don't need protection. If you have nothing else to offer, we're leaving."</p><p>Oikawa smirked as Ushijima called his adviser over. The emperor whispereed something into the other's ear, and the latter seemed shocked. A hushed debated quickly started and ended. Ushijima faced the proud pirate and answered, "Four million units, Oikawa Tooru. No more, no less. But, I'm sure that is more than enough."</p><p>20 minutes in and Oikawa still had no idea why the Empire would go out of their way to call a bunch of pirates for rogue hunting, much less put the bounty at four million. With that much, their crew could buy even a new ship! No matter how much he thought about it (in about 2 seconds), the Empire was being impractical and very un-Empire-y.</p><p>He just had to quell his curiosity.</p><p>"Answer me this, Your Highness. What did this crew even do that you're here making a trade with pirates?"</p><p>After standing and sulking in the dark, Tendou finally spoke up, the venom in his tone still pretty much present, "No more questions, pissant. Four million units for the pirates, take it or leave it." The firmness in the emperor's eyes shared the same sentiment.</p><p>Again, going against his better judgement, Oikawa agreed to the bizarre request. "Try to go back on your word, Your Highness," he threatened, unshaken by the other man's power, "And, I'll do you more damage than any other crew out there can possibly imagine."</p><p>No response.</p><p>The two groups no longer exchanged words, and Oikawa's party was smoothly escorted back to their ship. Kyoutani silently retreated 'below deck', the two recruits following him as Oikawa ordered. Meanwhile, an angry Iwaizumi was waiting in the bridge. Oikawa and his co-captain exchanged looks. Instantly, the latter realized what went on in the other ship and marched off.</p><p>"Oikawa, you know he hates the Empire more than anything in the universe," the pilot, Matsukawa, commented nonchalantly. Oikawa simply sighed and plopped himself down on his seat. Suddenly, he donned a devilish smirk. "Don't worry," he said, "Your captain always has a plan."</p><p>The Supernova then disappeared into space, leaving a Thundership with smoking rocket boosters in their trail.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you liked this first one, please let me know in the comments! It's taking a while for me to post the second chapter. I'm still doing research and editing A LOT.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Captain's Ploy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well...this took a while... Anyway, thanks for choosing to read my work! I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yahaba yawned generously in his seat. He grumbled, “How long until we catch these scoundrels? I want to go back to Earth.” Approximately 56 hours had passed since they started this hunt, but every passing minute made it feel more like a wild goose chase to Yahaba. The screen in front of him began morphing into some photon monster, at least in his imagination. Four hours of uninterrupted waiting for some suspicious pirate activity could do that to you.</p><p>Together with Kunimi and Watari, Yahaba had been tasked to surveill a sector of an alien metropolis for any signs of the target, who seemed to be nothing but a wannabe pirate crew. On the unit to his right, his junior sighed, “What’s so special about them anyway? They’re probably just some little band of mischief who thinks they can mess with the Empire and get away with it.” Although Watari said nothing, the little impatient huff he let out made it clear that he agreed, and while Yahaba thought their captain must have some rational (and preferrably sane) reason for accepting the job—</p><p>Scratch that. The captain <em>and</em> the vice captain had sworn off the Empire as their enemy. This was nothing but irrational to Yahaba.</p><p>Then, the door slid open behind them, a cold hiss interrupting the stillness in the room. Yahaba swiveled his chair quite angrily, griping in both English and another alien language before he even saw who had entered. Though he quickly shot to his feet when he did. The other two followed suit and the three of them gave a crisp salute to their vice-captain.</p><p>Iwaizumi waved his hand dismissively. “I told you guys not to do that anymore.” He seemed to have had something else to say but paused, then replaced the casual tone with a reserved one. He continued, “Have you guys found anything?”</p><p>Watari stepped forward, a little bit more energetic than he was a moment ago. Accidentally hitting the forehead while saluting could really wake one up, apparently. He relayed the lack of inactivity over the last four hours. “Nothing out of the ordinary, sir. Whoever the target is, they’re not making a—“</p><p>An alarm sounded out of nowhere. The four pirates wasted no time and bolted out into the corridor. The alarm rang twice before the familiar voice of Hanamaki poured out of the intercom, unusually urgent. “Everyone report to the mesh hall immediately!”</p><p>In the hall, the entire crew were muttering among themselves. While Yahaba, Kunimi, and Watari joined the rest of the crew, Iwaizumi stormed towards the pilot, Matsukawa. The latter whispered into the vice-captain’s ear. The exchange only took a few seconds before Iwaizumi turned to the assembly.</p><p>“WHICH ONE OF YOU CRUDS IS AN IMPOSTOR!”</p><p>The ex-soldier did not take lightly to the subject of traitors in his squad. He certainly didn’t leave that part of him in the Space Guard. The crew stiffened and lined up side by side upon Iwaizumi’s command. Matsukawa, who was standing behind the vice-captain, suddenly donned a sheepish expression. “Guess that’ll never change,” he mumbled. He almost felt sorry for the new yet utterly petrified recruits.</p><p>But, being a former soldier under Iwaizumi’s charge, Kunimi was no stranger to his volcanic anger. Although not completely ignoring the vice-captain, the cadet was peering over his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of a familiar turnip-shaped head of hair. Was Kindaichi missing?</p><p>“Ahem,” Matsukawa suddenly stepped forward. He put a hand on Iwaizumi’s shoulder, a wordless reminder to calm down. Iwaizumi sighed then stepped back. The pilot then continued, “Captain caught an intruder and is currently watching over him in the prison cells. Said intruder was using some pretty nifty disguise tech so Hanamaki over there,” he pointed at the door and a certain pink-haired engineer waltzed in, as if on cue, holding a small oval-shaped remote, “Is going to zap us with a techstopper. If you don’t change after that, then you’re safe.”</p><p>Kunimi raised his hand.</p><p>“What is it, Akira?”</p><p>The cadet answered, his voice a bit louder than usual, “Was the intruder disguised as Kindaichi?”</p><p>Matsukawa pursed his lips, then nodded sullenly. “You got a good eye there, Akira. And, yes, he was. Kindaichi’s probably been captured by the enemy, but right now we have to make sure there’s no other impostor among us.”</p><p>Despite the dangerous situation his friend was possibly in, Kunimi simply responded with a light hum then stepped back in line, much to the shock of the person beside him. She nudged Kunimi and muttered, “Kindaichi’s probably tied up in some enemy ship. Aren’t you worried?”</p><p>Kunimi gave her a stoic glance, then answered, “He’s a bit of an airhead, but he’s pretty capable. He can handle himself until a rescue.”</p><p>Hanamaki proceeded to ‘zap’ each member with the techstopper, though he only really did press the button and the device would only respond with a true or false report. When nothing happened, he’d proceed to the next crew member.</p><p>In the middle of the pat-down, however, the captain himself suddenly barged in, dragging behind him the silver-haired, handcuffed stranger. Following close behind them was Kyoutani, who was aiming a very dangerous-looking raygun point-blank at the intruder. Surprisingly though, the intruder had little to no scratches on him.</p><p>Oikawa Tooru, one of the most vicious pirate captains across galaxies… Not laying a single finger on an prisoner?</p><p>“No need for a pat-down, Makki~” He cooed as he threw the restrained intruder across the floor. As Iwaizumi opened his mouth to protest, Oikawa proudly put his foot on the prisoner’s chest, not to hard as to suffocate him. The gesture was a declaration of sorts. The captain grinned triumphantly at his crew and began delivering his orders.</p><p>“Gear up and head to your stations! Kyouken, Shigeru, Mattsun, you’re coming wih me and Hajime. We’re reeling in our prize!” He paused to slightly jerk his head at the prisoner beneath him, “And Mr. Refreshing over here is gonna be the bait.”</p><p>Oikawa dismissed the crew, with only the four mentioned members remaining. Then, he squatted down to look the intruder in the eye. Despite the obvious loss, the prisoner was still looking quite confident. He spat at Oikawa snarkily, “Oh, please, Captain,” the intruder scoffed, “They’ll never fall for it.”</p><p>“Tsk, tsk tsk,” Oikawa teased. Then, he smirked, almost evilly, as he held the other pirate by the chin. “Trust me, Koushi Sugawara, your precious little Crows will most definitely will.”</p><p>+----------------+</p><p>Kyoutani, Yahaba, Matsukawa, and Iwaizumi, comprised “the go-to team” that was perfect for the Troupe’s small-scale raids. That’s specifically why Oikawa chose them. After some quick preparations, the squad boarded a small battle cruiser and descended towards the planet below them.</p><p>An obvious atmosphere of tension lingered between Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Between the meeting with the Empire and this mission, the two were obviously at polar opposites about the whole thing. Yet, Oikawa somehow managed to convince the other to go with whatever his plan was. Not even Hanamaki and Matsukawa, the two other seniors on the crew, were aware of what exactly Oikawa had in mind.</p><p>“Oi, Captain, where exactly do you want me to land,” Matsukawa hollered from his pilot seat. They obviously couldn’t just drop in on a busy metropolis teeming with police and possibly some Space Guard soldiers. Oikawa brought up a control panel in front of him, then resizing the visual for the whole team to see. It was a simple map with coordinates written on the bottom and a single white dot that flashed over a specific location.</p><p>The color drained from Sugawara’s face.</p><p>The still-bound pirate called out from the back of the ship, “You had a tracker on your crew member this whole time?!” Oikawa simply chuckled, which infuriated Sugawara, “Then, what the hell was the interrogation for?! You could have just grabbed him and left!”</p><p>“Silly, Koushi~ That wouldn’t have been fun at all~!”</p><p>“You’re unbelievable!”</p><p>Oikawa swiveled his chair to face his prisoner. The cocky grin was painted on his lips again as he replied, “No. You were foolish enough to give me valuable information about this little playgroup of yours. Do you think <em>I’d</em> do that to <em>my</em> crew?”</p><p>Sugawara lowered his head in defeat, and the captain pivoted his chair back.</p><p>
  <em>Everything was going just as he had planned.</em>
</p><p>Matsukawa maneuvered the ship for landing. The coordinates Oikawa gave him seems to have directed them into the middle of nowhere, far, far away from the bustling city. Just a simple grassland.</p><p>Oikawa beckoned at Iwaizumi. The vice-captain unbuckled himself from his seat and ordered their fighter Kyoutani to follow him. Iwaizumi unlocked the chains that tied Sugawara to the wall then proceeded to drag him outside the ship. “You better be right about this, Tooru,” he mumbled begrudgingly. They got off and walked a few more meters away from the ship.</p><p>Kyoutani was silently following the vice captain, but slight anxiety seeped into his aura. It was a change Iwaizumi easily felt without even asking his subordinate. “Just follow my lead and do as I say, Kentarou,” he barked over his shoulder. Once they were significantly far from their ship, Iwaizumi threw Sugawara onto the ground. He walked over to Kyoutani’s side, whispering his commands. His voice was barely audible, but Kyoutani heard it clearly.</p><p>Sugawara tried to look up at those towering over him, his expression full of horror. Helpless, he watched the blonde warrior heave his axe upward. He turned his face towards an empty space to his right. As his life seemingly flashed before his eyes, Sugawara shut them as he braced for his end.</p><p>But, Kyoutani missed…by just about two centimeters. An intentional error.</p><p>A shot from a raygun suddenly whizzed at earshot, barely grazing Iwaizumi’s skin. The vice-captain spun towards the direction it came from. Suddenly, something…someone somehow spawned from thin air, running towards Iwaizumi and Kyoutani whilst yelling and continually firing at them.</p><p>“SUGA-SAN!!!!”</p><p>Kyoutani swiflty leapt in front of Iwaizumi, deflecting the shots with his axe. The assailant’s haphazard firing was no match for the marksman Iwaizumi. From behind Kyoutani, he aimed for the person’s leg, and they promptly collapsed to the ground. From where he seemed to have magically appeared, a sizeable space ship materialized.</p><p>Iwaizumi couldn’t believe it. Oikawa’s theories were correct, and the plan worked.</p><p>As the captain’s instructions repeated in his head, Iwaizumi echoed the same words to Kyoutani. “Join Oikawa and capture the targets!” His subordinate grunted, then sprinted towards the ship. Running in the same direction were Oikawa and Yahaba. Three men emerged from the other ship’s hangar door, firing skillfully at the invading party. The clash didn’t last long. The tech on Oikawa’s group easily overpowered the other’s. Not to mention, Kyoutani was a deadly force on his own. As much as he wanted to go all out though, the captain’s orders were absolute: “Capture the targets alive.”</p><p>Immobilizing the targets were the goal, for reasons unknown to Yahaba. Regardless, he followed Oikawa’s orders by the letter. “Shigeru, Kyouken, go find Yutaro and capture the rest of the crew. Meet me in the bridge.” Without ado, the captain sprinted down a corridor. Yahaba and Kyoutani went down the other passage.</p><p>Even without the plans of the ship, Yahaba knew how navigate through the corridors. This ship was the same one he first piloted in the Space Guard. He knew the structure by heart. “They’re probably keeping Kindaichi down in the engines,” he said, “Let’s grab him and rendezvous with the captain—”</p><p>“You gotta get past us, first!”</p><p>Yahaba wasn’t given a chance to register the enemy’s arrival. He slammed violently into the metal wall, courtesy of a rather short, spunky pirate. Kyoutani was quick enough to avoid the ambush. Four people suddenly appeared in the hall, but only two of them looked skilled enough. The one who kicked Yahaba down stood in front of them. Five targets.</p><p>“Get Kindaichi.”</p><p>Yahaba stared at Kyoutani, confused. “But, Captain said—” The strategist cut himself off. Kyoutani wanted to handle this on his own. The two weren’t close and Kyoutani was just as new to the crew as Kindaichi and Kunimi were, but Yahaba was more than sure that Kyoutani could hold his own against five people. He’s seen the Mad Dog handle even more than that.</p><p>There were advantages to having a highly-skilled, axe-wielding berserk fighter on your side. One was that lots of your enemies would be too scared to even get within slashing range. That alone was enough for Yahaba and Kyoutani to weave through the enemy flank and managed to switch their positions. While Kyoutani kept the attackers at bay, Yahaba sprinted towards the engine room, only to find the door open.</p><p>“Yahaba?”</p><p>The shriek that came out of Yahaba was shrill enough to make Kindaichi wince. He who was supposed to be rescued was already on his feet and geared up. “What the hell, Kindaichi?!” He’d used a scolding tone, but Yahaba was relieved. That was one job off his shoulders. “Save the details for later. Captain’s waiting for us at the bridge!”</p><p>They ran as fast as they could to the ship’s bridge. No ambushes, no enemies. When they arrived though, Kyoutani was already there, their five attackers and another pirate shackled behind him. His axe was dangerously close to their faces. In another corner of the room, a bearded pirate and a woman were also tied up, helpless. The only one who wasn’t fettered and sitting on the floor was the person sitting in the pilot’s seat.</p><p>And, standing over the captain’s console was Oikawa himself, basking in his triumphant glory. “That’s all the Crows, tied up and accounted for!” What they just pulled off was dangerous, but he made it sound like he just stole candy from a child. His comical, manic laugh echoed in the room. Yahaba could swear that the shackled pirates all dropped their chins in defeat. Coldly, he spoke to the ‘pilot’, “Now, Captain Sawamura Daichi, I can count on you agreeing to our partnership, correct?”</p><p><em>Partnership</em>? It hit Yahaba. This was exactly what the captain would do. This entire plot had Oikawa Tooru written all over it.</p><p>The Captain of the Supernova turned around with a dramatic flourish to face everyone else in the room. “Don’t worry,” he cooed in a honeyed yet almost sinister voice, “Why hand you over to the Empire when all of us can work to get back at them?” Oikawa took his time to look at each one of the captured.</p><p>“I’ll show you little Crows what real marauders do.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Feel free to comment and share your feedback and/or thoughts! Hope you liked this chapter!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you have any feedback or suggestions, feel free to comment!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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